1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to plumber's tools. More particularly, the invention concerns a waste line cleanout tool adapted for cleaning and removing obstructions from waste lines wherein an elongated member in the form of a coiled spring wire, known as a plumber's snake, is housed in a removable drum from which it is advanced through the pipe and rotated.
2. Discussion of The Prior Art
Spring type plumber's snakes are ordinarily housed in a drum or container having a conoidal wall through which the spring or snake is fed and retracted axially of itself as the container is rotated to cause rotation of the spring. In tools having power operated spring advancing and retracting means, the feed mechanism typically includes jaws, rollers, segmented nuts, or like structures which grip the spring so that when the spring is fed through the feed while being rotated, it is advanced into or retracted from the sewer line.
The drum housing the spring is frequently removably mounted on a supporting frame or stand. In medium to large sized machines, the combined weight of the spring, the spring housing, the feed, the frame and the drive motor is significant. The weight of these machines has always presented handling problems for the operator.
In using the sewer cleanout apparatus, it is often necessary to increase the length of coiled spring to reach the stoppage in the sewer line. To do this, the operator must remove the empty spring housing, or drum, and add a new full drum containing an additional length of coiled spring so that the remote stoppage can be reached and cleared. When retrieving the coiled spring, the operator must remove the full drum and add an empty drum in order to retrieve the additional coiled spring still in the sewer line. Each time the operator adds or removes a full drum, he must physically lift the heavy drum to mount it on, or remove it from, the frame. Unless the operator properly lifts these heavy drums, serious injury can result.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,293, issued to the present inventor, discloses one type of prior art power operated wasteline cleanout apparatus having a removable coil spring storage drum. U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,592, issued to R. G. Hunt discloses an early form of power operated wasteline cleanout tool.
The thrust of the present invention is to provide a wasteline cleanout apparatus of unique design which enables the operator to add or remove full drums to the apparatus in a safe and substantially effortless manner.